JPH10228292A - Karaoke system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide the KARAOKE system which can shorten the time from when a user requests music until when the music begins to be played is a KARAOKE system which downloads music data from a server by a KARAOKE commander to play the KARAOKE music. SOLUTION: The KARAOKE system 100 having the server 10A which holds pieces of music data and KARAOKE commanders 20A (20B, 20C, and 20D) which download music data on desired music and play KARAOKE music divides the music data into blocks and the KARAOKE commanders acquire the divided music data by the blocks in order, and start a KARAOKE performance based upon the music data once acquiring the 1st block.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a LAN (Local
The present invention relates to a karaoke system using a centralized tone reproduction system composed of a plurality of tone reproduction devices connected to a server via an area network.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Hitherto, a karaoke system using a so-called centralized tone reproduction system has been known.
A karaoke system using a centralized music reproduction system is a karaoke server having storage means (such as a hard disk) in which data of karaoke performance music is stored,
A karaoke system in which communication means for receiving performance music data from a server without performance music data and a plurality of karaoke commanders having only a reproduction system for reproducing performance music is connected by a LAN.

In a karaoke system using such a centralized music reproduction system (hereinafter abbreviated as a centralized karaoke system), when a user inputs a requested music to a karaoke commander, the user inputs the requested music via a communication means. Request information is transmitted to the karaoke server. Upon receiving the requested music information, the karaoke server reads the music data corresponding to the requested music information from the storage means, and transmits the read music data to the karaoke commander via the LAN. Karaoke commander is LAN
, The music data is received from the karaoke server, and the music data is reproduced by the reproducing means, thereby performing the performance of the music requested by the user.

[0004]

However, in the conventional karaoke system of the centralized management type, each commander cannot start playing the music until it receives all the data for one music from the karaoke server. It has become. When a large number of commanders simultaneously receive song data from the karaoke server, it may take 20 seconds or more to receive all the data for one song. During this time, the processing is interrupted on the commander side, causing the user who input the requested music to feel frustrated, frustrated, or mistrusted that the request was not accepted correctly. There was a problem of giving.

In view of the above circumstances, the present invention provides a karaoke system in which a karaoke commander downloads song data from a server and plays a karaoke song, from the time a user requests a song to the start of playing the song. It is an object of the present invention to provide a karaoke system that can shorten the time of the karaoke.

[0006]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a karaoke system according to a first aspect of the present invention comprises a server for storing a plurality of music data, and downloading music data of a desired music from the server. A karaoke system having a karaoke commander for playing karaoke songs,
The song data is divided into a plurality of blocks, respectively, the karaoke commander includes a data acquisition unit that sequentially acquires the song data divided into the plurality of blocks for each block, and the data acquisition unit includes the plurality of blocks. And a performance means for immediately starting a karaoke performance based on the music data as soon as the first block of the music data divided into pieces is obtained.

A karaoke system according to a second aspect of the present invention is characterized in that the data acquisition means continues to acquire music data divided into the plurality of blocks even after the performance means starts a karaoke performance. .

In a karaoke system according to a third aspect, the music data has at least performance data and lyrics data, and each of the performance data and the lyrics data is
It is characterized by being divided into the plurality of blocks.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the karaoke commander has an image display device, and the music data includes title image data displayed on the image display device prior to the karaoke performance. The first block of the plurality of blocks includes the data of the title image.

A karaoke system according to a fifth aspect is characterized in that each of the plurality of blocks includes data indicating a block to be obtained next by the data obtaining means.

A karaoke system according to a sixth aspect of the present invention provides a karaoke system, comprising: a server for holding music data divided into a plurality of blocks having a predetermined size; a data receiving means for receiving the music data from the server in units of the blocks Performance means for performing the karaoke performance by processing the music data in block units; and a performance for controlling the performance means to start a karaoke performance based on the reception block when the receiving means receives the first block of the music data. And control means.

A karaoke system according to a seventh aspect is characterized in that the data receiving means continues to receive the music data in block units even after the karaoke performance is started by the performance means.

The karaoke system according to claim 8, wherein the music data has at least performance data and lyrics data, and the receiving means receives the performance data and the lyrics data in units of the blocks. Features.

In a karaoke system according to a ninth aspect, the performance means includes an image display device, and the music data includes title image data displayed on the image display device prior to the karaoke performance. The first block of the plurality of blocks includes data of the title image.

[0015] A karaoke system according to claim 10 is
Each of the plurality of blocks includes data on a block to be received next by the data receiving unit.

[0016]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of a karaoke system 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The karaoke system 100 is a centralized karaoke system, which is a server 10A having a hard disk 14A as storage means for storing music data.
have. In the karaoke system 100 of the present embodiment, the server 10A also has a reproduction system for processing music data and playing karaoke music. That is, the server 10A also has a function as a music playing device.

The server 10A has commanders 20A, 20
B, 20C and 20D are connected. It should be noted that although several to several tens of commanders can be connected to the server, in order to simplify the description, the server 1 is used here.
A case where four commanders are connected to 0A will be described. Server 10A and commanders 20A to 20D
Are installed in each room (karaoke room) of the karaoke facility where the karaoke system 100 is installed.
In this karaoke system, each server and a commander are connected to each other by a LAN constructed using Ethernet. In FIG. 1, cable 101 is Ethernet
Cable.

The user of the karaoke system has a server 1
0A or any of the commanders 20A to 20D can be used to enjoy a karaoke performance. When the user uses the server 10A, the data of the requested music is read from the hard disk 14A in response to the user's request, and is reproduced by the reproducing device provided in the server 10A.

Further, when the user operates the commander 20A (or 2).
0B to 20D), when the requested music is input to the commander 20A (or any of 20B to 20D), the commander 20A (or 20D) is input.
B, 20C, and 20D) connect to the server 10A on the LAN and request transmission of music data.

When the server 10A receives a request from the commander 20A (or 20B, 20C, 20D),
The music data of the requested music is read from the music data stored in the hard disk 14A, and the commander 20A
(Or 20B, 20C, 20D). The commander 20A (or 20B, 20C, 20D) processes the music data transmitted from the server 10A and plays the music requested by the user.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram for explaining the configuration of the server 10A. The server 10A has a CPU (Central Processing Unit) that controls the entire operation of the server 10A.
nit) 11. A plurality of programs executed by the CPU 11 are stored in the ROM 13. The CPU 11 is also connected to a RAM (Random Access Memory) 12 used as a work area when executing a program stored in the ROM 13. As described above, the hard disk drive (HDD) 14A storing the music data is also connected to the CPU 11.

The server 10A has a LAN circuit (Ethernet
Interface 101) to the cable 101.

Further, the server 10A has a sound source circuit 18 for reproducing a karaoke song, a display circuit 17 for generating an image signal of a background image and a lyrics telop during a karaoke performance, and an image output from the display circuit 17. A monitor device 17D for displaying a signal, an amplifier 19 for amplifying an audio signal output from the sound source circuit 18, and a speaker 19S for outputting the output of the amplifier 19 as audible sound are provided.

The performance data is MIDI (Musical Instrume)
The performance data is reproduced as an audio signal by the MIDI chip of the tone generator circuit 18 and input to the amplifier 19. Display circuit 1
Reference numeral 7 denotes a video information storage means (not shown) having a video CD or the like, and reproduces any of various video information stored in the video information storage means based on video data included in music data. The subtitle video generated based on the subtitle data is synthesized to generate an image signal, and the monitor device 17D
To enter. The audio signal of the music output from the sound source circuit 18 is amplified by the amplifier 19 and output as audible sound from the speaker 19S. Although not shown, a microphone is connected to the amplifier 19, and the singing voice of the user and the above-described audio signal are synthesized and output from the speaker 19S. The display circuit 17 may use moving image data (for example, MPEG data) or CG data to be described later as background video data without using the above-described video information recording unit.

When the user performs a karaoke performance on the server 10A configured as described above, the user inputs the music number of the requested music by the input means 110. The input unit 110 is configured by an input device such as a keyboard and a remote controller.

The music number of the requested music input from the input means 110 is temporarily stored in the RAM 12. CPU11
Indicates the song data stored in the RAM 12 in the order from the earliest stored song data to the corresponding song data in the hard disk 1
4A, the performance data in the music data is sent to the tone generator 18 and the subtitle data and video data are sent to the display circuit 17. As described above, the sound source circuit 18 outputs an audio signal, and the display circuit 17 outputs an image signal (for example, an NTSC signal) in which a background video and subtitles are combined. The audio signal and the image signal are input to the display 17D and the amplifier 19, respectively, and the performance of the karaoke music is executed.

FIG. 3 shows the commanders 20A (20B, 20C,
FIG. 20D is a block diagram showing the same configuration. The commander 20A has the same configuration as the server 10A except that it does not have a hard disk.

Commander 20A is (20B, 20C, 20
D), the CPU 2 which controls the entire commander 20A.
1, a ROM 23 storing a plurality of programs executed by the CPU 21 is connected to the CPU 21, and a RAM 22 used as a work area when executing the programs is provided. Further, similarly to the server 10A, a sound source circuit 28, a display circuit 27, a monitor device 27D, and an amplifier 29 for reproducing a karaoke song.
A speaker 29S is provided.

[0029] Further, the user inputs the requested music to the commander 2.
Input means 210 for inputting to 0A (or 20B, 20C, 20D) is also provided. Input means 210
Is constituted by a keyboard, a remote controller and the like (not shown).

The commanders 20A (20B, 20C,
20D), like the server 10A, the LAN circuit (Et.
It is connected to an Ethernet cable 101 via an interface (hernet) 26.

When the user inputs the requested music to the commander 20A by the input means 210, the CPU 21
N, and requests the server 10A to transmit the music data stored in the hard disk 14A of the server 10A.

As described above, the music data has performance data, subtitle data, and video data. Commander 20A
When the music data is received (or 20B, 20C, 20D), the performance data, which is MIDI data, is reproduced as an audio signal by the tone generator 28 and input to the amplifier 29. The display circuit 27 has a video CD or the like as video information storage means (not shown), and reproduces any of various video information stored in the video information storage means based on video data included in music data. Then, a subtitle video generated based on the subtitle data included in the music data is synthesized and input to the monitor device 27D. The amplifier 29 amplifies the audio signal of the music output from the sound source circuit 28, and outputs the amplified signal from a display 29D as a video output unit and a speaker 29S as an audio output unit. Although not shown, a microphone is connected to the amplifier 29, and the singing voice of the user and the audio signal are combined and output from the speaker 29S. As in the case of the display circuit 17, the display circuit 27 does not use the video information recording means as described above, but uses moving image data (for example, MPEG data) or CG data described later as background video data. In some cases.

FIG. 4 shows a karaoke system 1 according to the present embodiment.
It is a figure showing composition of music data adopted by 00. As shown in FIG. 4, data for one music piece is divided into a plurality of blocks and stored in the hard disk 14A. Each commander 20A (20B, 20C,
20D) and the server 10A process the data for one song in block units. That is, the CPU 11 or 21
Starts playing the song as soon as it gets the first block. Then, while the music is being performed based on the first block, the subsequent blocks are sequentially acquired and reproduced.

Since the time required to acquire data in block units is shorter than the performance time performed based on the data acquired in block units, the performance is not interrupted by such processing. Also, while playing data of a certain block, data of a plurality of blocks can usually be acquired. Therefore, when a plurality of requested songs are stored in the RAM 12 or 22, data of another requested song can be acquired while a certain song is being played. Does not have to wait for data loading.

It should be noted that the performance of a karaoke song may start from the display of the title screen. Therefore, in the above description, the performance of a song may not mean that the sound of the requested song is output, but that the process of reproducing the data of the requested song is started. That is, the performance of the karaoke song means that data of a plurality of divided blocks is processed. In some cases, the first block of the music data does not include the performance data (MIDI data) but only the data of the title screen.

As shown in FIG. 4, each block of music data has a header, music data, CG (computer graphic) data, ADPCM (advanced pulse code modulation) data, font data, and the like. The CG data is data used to output a still image as a background image of a lyrics telop display during the performance of a karaoke song when the display circuits 17 and 27 do not have a moving image reproducing device such as a laser disk or a compact disk. It is. The ADPCM data includes data for adding harmony to the singing voice of the user. The font data is external character font data (for example, a Hangul character font) accompanying a font other than the standard font for the lyrics telop. Since the data for one song is divided into a plurality of blocks and stored in the hard disk 14A, it is necessary to read out each block in a correct order. Therefore, the header of each block includes data indicating the address (on the hard disk 14A) of the block to be read next to the block.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a procedure of a music performance process executed by the CPU 21 of the commander 20A. FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a music data acquisition process similarly executed by the CPU 21.
The music data acquisition processing of FIG. 6 is an interrupt processing repeatedly executed during the music performance processing of FIG. Note that, as described above, the server 10A also has a function as a commander.
The processing procedure for the following commander and the processing when the server 10A functions as a commander are different in that the server 10A reads data directly from the hard disk 14A without going through the LAN. However, the server 10A performs data processing in block units. Also commander 20A (20B, 2
0C, 20D).

The music performance processing of FIG. 5 is executed when the music number of the requested music is stored in the RAM 22.
In S1, it is determined whether a music performance event has occurred. When the requested music is stored in the RAM 22, the CPU 21 determines that a music performance event has occurred, and when the requested music is not stored in the RAM 22, determines that no music performance event has occurred.

When the CPU 21 determines that a music performance event has occurred (S1: YES), it generates a data acquisition request event in S2. Therefore, the data acquisition request event in S2 occurs for each music piece.

In the music data acquisition process of FIG.
Is N in S11 until a data request event occurs.
O is determined and the determination process of S11 is repeated. However, when a data acquisition request event occurs in S2 of FIG.
It is determined YES at 11 and the process proceeds to S12. S12
Then, to send the data of the requested song,
Is transmitted to the server 10A via the.

In S13, a request for data transmission (S12)
Wait for the server 10A to respond. Server 10A
If there is a response from the server (S13: YES), in S14, one block of the requested music data transmitted from the server 10A is received.

When receiving one block of data (S14), the CPU 21 generates a music data acquisition event indicating that music data has been acquired in S15. And S
At 16, it is determined whether data up to the last block of the music has been received. If the data of the last block has not been received (S16: NO), the process returns to S12, and the data is continuously received. If the last block of the music data currently being received has been received (S16: YES), the process returns to S11 and waits for a further data acquisition request event.

In the music performance processing of FIG. 5, after generating a data acquisition request event in S2, it is determined in S3 whether a music data acquisition event has occurred. That is, it is determined whether one block of data has been received from the server 10A. If the data block has not been received (that is, the state in which the generation of the music data acquisition event in S15 is not executed in FIG. 6), the flow waits for the generation of the music data acquisition event (S3: NO).

When a music data acquisition event occurs (S
3: YES), in S4, immediately execute the processing of the acquired data, and start playing the requested music. As described above, when the requested music starts with the display of the title picture of the music, the data block received first contains the data of the title picture, and in the processing of S4, the display of the title picture is first performed. Will be In S4, the process does not proceed to the next step until the process of the block is completed, and the process proceeds to the next while executing the process of S4. That is, the process necessary for starting the performance is executed in S4, and when the performance is started, the process immediately proceeds to the next S5 without waiting for the performance to end.

In S5, it is determined whether or not the last block of the music currently being received has been received. If the data of the last block has not been received (S5: NO), the process proceeds to S
Returning to 3, the CPU 21 waits for the occurrence of a data acquisition event. When the data of the last block is received (S
5: YES), the process proceeds to S1. In S1, R
If an unreceived request music is stored in the AM 22, it is determined that a music performance event has occurred (S1: YE
S), the processes of S2 to S5 are repeated.

In this way, the requested music is stored in the RAM 22
If it is stored in a song, instead of waiting for the completion of a certain song and then reading the data of the next song, during the performance of a song, the data of songs that will be played after that Since reading is performed, a time lag occurs from the request to the performance only for the first played song until the first block is received.
With respect to the requested songs after the first song, the performance is started immediately after the end of the previous song.

As described above, each data block has address information of a block to be read next in a header portion. For this reason, the CPU of the server 10A
11, a commander 20A, 2
0B, 20C, and 20D.

The server described in claim 1 is constituted by the server 10A in the above embodiment.
In addition, karaoke commanders are commanders 20A, 20B,
20C and 20D. The data acquisition means according to the first aspect is configured by the processing of FIG. 6 executed by the CPU 21, and the performance means is configured by the processing of S 4 in FIG. 5 executed by the CPU 21. In addition, the image display device according to claim 4 is configured by a monitor device 27D included in each commander.

The server according to claim 6 is the server 1
6A, and the data receiving means according to claim 6 is configured by the processing of FIG. The playing means according to claim 6 comprises a display circuit 27, a monitor device 27D, a sound source circuit 28, an amplifier 29, a speaker 29S, and the like, and the playing control means is executed by the CPU 21 and the processing of S4 of FIG. Be composed.

In the above example, the commander 20A (or 2)
0B, 20C, and 20D) receive the music data from the server 10A, but as described above, the display circuit 17, the sound source circuit 18, the monitor device 17D, the amplifier 19, and the speaker 19S included in the server 10A are used. When performing a karaoke performance, data is read directly from the hard disk 14A in block units without using a LAN to perform processing.

In the present embodiment, the karaoke system including the server and the commander has been described. However, the present invention can be applied to any system that needs to transfer data and process the data in real time. Even if there is, it is applicable.

The music data is divided into a plurality of blocks, and the size of each block may be substantially the same size, and may correspond to the latter half of the music as compared with the block size of the part transferred and processed first. The block size of the portion may be increased. In other words, the data of the second half of the song may be relatively large in size, as long as it can be transferred while the data of the first half already transferred is being processed.

As described above, according to the karaoke system of the present embodiment, the song data divided into blocks is received from the server in block units, and the performance is started immediately upon receiving the first block. ,
The waiting time from the request to the start of the performance can be greatly reduced. Further, even after the performance is started, the reception of the blocked music data is continued, so that the performance processing is not interrupted or interrupted.

When the music data has performance data and lyric data, both of them are blocked and received. Therefore, even if the melody is blocked, the performance and the lyrics telop can be synchronized in the same manner as in the related art. When song data includes title image data, the block includes title image data, so that the title screen can be displayed prior to reception of performance data. It can give a sense of security.

Since each of the plurality of blocks contains data indicating the storage location of the next block, even if the data is divided into blocks, the data is reliably reproduced in the correct order.

[0056]

According to the karaoke system according to the first aspect, there is provided a server for storing a plurality of music data, and a karaoke commander for downloading music data of a desired music from the server and playing the karaoke music. Since the karaoke system is configured to sequentially acquire music data divided into a plurality of blocks for each block and immediately start a karaoke performance based on the music data upon acquiring the first block, the reception of the first block is performed. Is the waiting time of the user, and the waiting time can be greatly reduced as compared with the case where the entire music data is received.

According to the karaoke system of the sixth aspect, a server for holding music data divided into a plurality of blocks having a predetermined size, and data receiving means for receiving the music data from the server in block units Controlling the performance means to process the song data in block units to perform a karaoke performance; and, when the receiving means receives the first block of the music data, controlling the performance means to start a karaoke performance based on the received block. , The reproduction of the requested music can be started within a short time.

According to the karaoke system according to the second and seventh aspects, the music data divided into a plurality of blocks is continuously obtained even after the karaoke performance is started. Can be eliminated. In particular, when a plurality of songs are requested, it is possible to eliminate the time for reading data for the second and subsequent songs.

According to the karaoke system according to the third and eighth aspects, when there is music data performance data and lyric data, each is divided and processed, so that even if the data is divided into a plurality of blocks. , And can be reproduced in synchronization with each other.

According to the karaoke system according to the fourth and ninth aspects, when the music data includes the data of the title image displayed on the display device prior to the karaoke performance, the first of the plurality of blocks is started. Is configured to include the title image data, so that the title screen can be displayed before receiving other data.

According to the karaoke system according to the fifth and tenth aspects, each of the plurality of blocks includes data indicating a block to be acquired next. For this reason, even if it is divided into a plurality of blocks, it is possible to always transfer and reproduce data in a correct order.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a karaoke system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a 00.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a server 10A of the karaoke system 100 shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a commander 20A (20B, 20C, 20D) of the karaoke system 100 shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration of music data used in the karaoke system 100 shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a music playing process.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing music data acquisition processing.

[Explanation of symbols]

 100 Karaoke system 10A Server 20A Commander 20B Commander 20C Commander 20D Commander 101 Ethernet cable 11 CPU 12 RAM 13 ROM 14A Hard disk 16 LAN circuit 17 Display circuit 17D Monitor device 18 Sound source circuit 19 Amplifier 19S Speaker 21 CPU 22 RAM 23 ROM 26 ROM Display circuit 27D monitor device 28 sound source circuit 29 amplifier 29S speaker 31 CPU 32 RAM 33 ROM 36 LAN circuit 37 display circuit

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. A server for storing a plurality of music data,
A karaoke system having a karaoke commander for downloading song data of a desired song from the server and playing a karaoke song, wherein the song data is divided into a plurality of blocks, respectively, and the karaoke commander includes the plurality of blocks. Data acquisition means for sequentially acquiring music data divided into blocks, and a karaoke performance based on the music data is immediately started as soon as the data acquisition means acquires the first block of the music data divided into the plurality of blocks. A karaoke system comprising: 2. The karaoke system according to claim 1, wherein the data acquisition unit continues to acquire music data divided into the plurality of blocks even after the karaoke performance is started by the performance unit. . 3. The music data has at least performance data and lyrics data, and each of the performance data and the lyrics data is divided into the plurality of blocks. 2. The karaoke system according to 2. 4. The karaoke commander has an image display device, the song data includes title image data displayed on the image display device prior to a karaoke performance, and 4. The karaoke system according to claim 1, wherein the first block contains data of the title image. 5. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of blocks includes data indicating a block to be acquired next by the data acquisition unit. The karaoke system described. 6. A server that holds music data divided into a plurality of blocks having a predetermined size; a data receiving unit that receives the music data from the server in units of blocks; and a data receiving unit that receives the music data in units of blocks. Performance means for processing and performing a karaoke performance; and when the receiving means receives the first block of the music data, performance control means for controlling the performance means to start a karaoke performance based on the received block. Characteristic karaoke system. 7. The karaoke system according to claim 6, wherein the data receiving means continues to receive the music data in block units even after the karaoke performance is started by the performance means. 8. The music data according to claim 6, wherein the music data has at least performance data and lyrics data, and the receiving means receives the performance data and the lyrics data in units of the blocks. Item 7. A karaoke system according to item 7. 9. The performance means has an image display device,
The song data includes data of a title image displayed on the image display device prior to the karaoke performance, and the first block of the plurality of blocks includes the data of the title image. The karaoke system according to any one of claims 6 to 8, wherein 10. Each of the plurality of blocks includes:
The karaoke system according to any one of claims 6 to 9, further comprising data on blocks to be received by the data receiving means.